Information Services

One of the most prominent jobs within information services is working within credit rating agencies. The role of credit rating agencies is to assess the risk of certain investments, and a large part of a credit agency position is analyzing data to produce ratings. Ratings help investors determine the potential risk of purchasing particular bonds, both locally and internationally. Following the global financial crisis, credit rating agencies gained somewhat of a bad reputation, accused of giving higher ratings, and certainly more AAA ratings, than were being earned. Fortunately, these difficulties for the credit rating agencies have been overcome and they remain legitimate and important places to work. Indeed, new regulations stemming from the Dodd-Frank Act state that the route to all ratings decisions must be clearly defined, which has meant more analyst opportunities within the agencies.

The Big 3

If you're looking to get in with one of the key players in the financial information services providers, check out efinancialcareers.com's job listings from Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch. These are considered the 'big 3' in the world of credit rating agencies. These are all independent, unaffiliated agencies which aim to provide impartial advice. All of them operate internationally, offering job opportunities across the world, if you fancy a job that includes travel and relocation. For new graduates, junior analyst roles are the most popular, providing internal progression opportunities to roles with more influence over the market.

Financial Journalism

Information services isn't just about working with the credit rating field. This umbrella term incorporates any role which acts as a prominent information resource, and has some degree of influence over stock values and the current market. This includes financial journalism, particularly within major, internationally renowned publishing houses such as The Economist, Bloomberg Markets, and the Financial Times.